Joie de vivre reigns o'er The Who, Boston audience

Saturday

Nov 17, 2012 at 9:00 AMNov 17, 2012 at 2:21 PM

Meet the new boss. Same as the old boss.Whether you are a mod, a rocker or even a mocker, The Who's “Quadrophenia And More” concert last night at the TD Garden was a rock 'n' roll lover's dream come true.

By Craig S. Semon TELEGRAM & GAZETTE STAFF

Meet the new boss. Same as the old boss.

Whether you are a mod, a rocker or even a mocker, The Who's “Quadrophenia And More” concert Friday night at the TD Garden was a rock 'n' roll lover's dream come true.

While drummer Keith Moon died before he got old (at 32 in 1978) and bassist John Entwistle died before his time (at age 57 in 2002), singer Roger Daltrey, 68, and guitarist Pete Townshend, 67, are still alive and kicking. They showed they can still kick some serious butt on stage during their two-hour-and-15-minute, 23-song set (which included a rocking, six-song encore), teaching the young upstarts a thing or two about song structure and how to rock out.

In fact, Moon and Entwistle (or, at least, their spirit) almost stole the show but more about that later.

With Townshend's brother Simon on guitar, Ringo Starr's son Zak Starkey on drums, and Pino Palladino on bass, as well as three keyboardists and two horn players, Daltrey and Townshend played one of rock's quintessential rock operas, “Quadrophenia,” in its entirety and took the faithful on an amazing journey of mod anthems and some of the most vital, visceral rock 'n' roll ever recorded.

Released in 1973, The Who's double-album “Quadrophenia” focuses on the reckless exploits of a disillusioned, pill-popping, mood-swinging, maladjusted Mod named Jimmy, who wrestles with (among other things) having four distinct personalities (including a misguided tough guy, a helpless romantic, a confused hypocrite and a bloody lunatic), each of which represent a behavioral trait of one of the original members of The Who.

And with the coolest soundtrack ever to have a nervous breakdown to, it is up to our troubled protagonist if he's going to sink or swim in the aftermath of the Brighton riots of 1964.

With images and sounds of crashing waves accompanying the opener “I Am the Sea,” The Who concert kicked into high gear with “The Real Me.”

Daltrey — wearing wireframe glasses, a dungaree suit with plenty of flair and a tight-fitting white shirt whose buttons seem to magically pop until the shirt was completely open to show off his rock-hard physique — was in fine, muscular voice throughout the evening.

Townshend — wearing dark glasses, gray slacks and a checkered shirt that made him look as if he were dressed for a cookout rather than rock concert — sharpened his ax with the authority and agility of a fine craftsman.

Obviously taking a page from the Roger Waters playbook, the video monitors flickered black and white snapshots, old newsreels and vintage film clips from the World War II and post-World War II era, which made the past and present, as well as The Who then and now, magically share the same space, collide, and become one.

With Townshend's thrashing guitar playing and Daltrey's twirling his microphone cord, the heavy-duty rock number “The Punk and the Godfather” was a feast for the eyes and ears. Strumming an acoustic guitar, Townshend's weathered voice resonated with true heart and feel on the reflective rocker, “I'm One,” while Simon Townshend compellingly sang lead on The Who's ode to the everyday rat race, “The Dirty Jobs.”

Showing their share of chemistry and the respect they have for each other, Daltrey and Townshend traded off lines during a gritty version of “Helpless Dancer” and the two shared vocals for “Is It In My Head?”

The Who ended what would be Side Two of “Quadrophenia” on a high note with “I Had Enough,” which featured Daltrey's best microphone cord twirls and plenty of Townshend's windmills.

While the stage lights dimmed, Townshend uttered one of rock's most famous rhetorical questions, “Why should I care?” and then gave us many reason to do just that on “5:15,” which had a “Live At Leeds” worthy blues jam that was more powerful than a locomotive and had so many windmills on Townshend's guitar that Don Quixote would have thought he died and gone to heaven.

“5:15” also served as a rousing tribute to Entwistle, given by the Quiet One himself. In footage of the virtuoso bassist recorded in 2000 at the Royal Albert Hall, Entwislte delivered a blistering bass solo that put most four-string and six-string players to shame.

During “Sea and Sand,” Townshend belted out “I'm the Face,” from The High Number (which later became The Who) with such urgency it was almost as if Townshend was ticked off that the song never became a major hit for the band.

The Moon was also full during the virtual performance by the Who's original drummer on the crowd-pleasing “Bell Boy.” Moon, courtesy of vintage concert footage from 1974, meshed with the vocals from the record, was engaging with his sloppy stage antics and cheeky Cockney accent.

By the start of Side Four, Daltrey was working on all cylinders on the decadent, depraved and self-destructive ditty, “Doctor Jimmy.” The Who sounded better (“you better, you better, you bet”) as the performance progressed.

The epic instrumental “The Rock' was accompanied by a breathtaking video montage that took the listener through the Vietnam Era to 9-11, stopping to pay respects to Elvis, John Lennon and Princess Diana.

With the stage lights dimmed and cascading piano notes and rumbling snare drum roll falling in like rain and thunder, Daltrey delivered his best vocals of the night during the greatest tough guy love song ever recorded, “Love, Reign o'er Me.” Roaring like a lion (although he didn't attempt the last, spine-tingling cry of “love”), Daltrey had the swagger of a man who knew he was in the moment and nailed it.

The 45-minute encore was like a mini Who concert in itself, with some of the most beloved anthems in the history of rock.

“Who Are You?” boasted Daltrey's tough-guy vocals at their best, as well as Townshend's longest windmill run. “Behind Blue Eyes” momentarily turned into a crowd singalong, while Townshend's jangy guitar riffs on “Pinball Wizard” were a wonder to behold.

Daltrey belted “teenage wasteland” while Townshend supplied the three-chord crunch on a triumphant, show-stopping version of “Baba O'Riley,” which ended with The Who guitarist jumping modestly into the air. And Daltrey was able to deliver (to the apparent amazement and delight of both the audience and the singer) the cathartic closing scream on the ultimate arena rock finale, “Won't Get Fooled Again.”

After some silly banter, Daltrey and Townshend were left to themselves on stage to sing “Tea & Theatre” (from 2006's “Endless Wire”) and to give the crowd well-wishes of happiness and good health. The feeling is mutual.